inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] knox. [inaudible conversations] >> ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states accompanied by thomas perez. [applause] >> thank you. [cheers and applause] >> thank you. thank you. everybody have a seat, have a seat. [applause] >> well, as i've said before, my top priority as president is doing everything we need to do to make sure that we're growing our economy and that we're strengthening our middle class. and as i said at my state of the unigallon address last month, every day we should be asking ourselves three questions. one, how do we make sure america's a magnet for good jobs. number two, how do we quip people with the skills they need to get those jobs and, number three, how do we make sure that hard work actually pays off in a decent living. these are the challenges that i've instructed my team here at the white house and in my entire cabinet to focus on. and a position that's instrumental to tackling these challenges is having an outstanding secretary of labor. so i w